“When Did He Pass Joe Montana?”: Rob Parker Weighs in on Patrick Mahomes vs. Tom Brady GOAT Debate

Tom Brady warned Patrick Mahomes about the repercussions of potentially losing Super Bowl LIX. Now, months after the fact, Mahomes is facing the consequences.

Prior to that fateful contest, Mahomes was on the verge of thrusting himself into Brady’s echelon. Four Lombardi Trophies in seven seasons, and an unprecedented three consecutive Super Bowl victories, would have given him a legitimate claim to be the NFL’s GOAT title. Instead, he’s now, at best, a distant second. But to some, Mahomes is not even grasping the silver medal.

Former ESPN and Fox Sports One contributor Rob Parker is one of the people perplexed at Mahomes’ placement in the league’s GOAT conversation.

“We’re talking about [Patrick Mahomes] chasing Brady, and I was like, ‘wait a minute. Did something happen to Joe Montana?’ How did he jump over Joe Montana, who’s 4-0 in Super Bowls [and] won three [Super Bowl] MVPs. Two [rings] with Jerry Rice, two without [him]… when did [Mahomes] pass Joe Montana?” he said on The Coach JB Show.

Some of Mahomes’ accomplishments rival those of Montana. Like Montana, he has three Super Bowl MVPs. Also, two of his Super Bowl victories came without Tyreek Hill, a four-time first-team All-Pro wideout.

Is Mahomes winning without Hill as impressive as Montana winning without Rice? No.

Rice is in his own stratosphere in league history. He may have the best case among non-quarterbacks to be the NFL’s GOAT. And Mahomes still had Travis Kelce, his most reliable sidekick, at his disposal.

.@tkelce led all receivers with 93 yards in Super Bowl LVIII. How many will he put up on Opening Night?

93 days until Kickoff pic.twitter.com/gvtMhoGya3

— NFL (@NFL) June 4, 2024

Regardless, it’s easy to understand why some analysts and fans are eager to nudge Mahomes up the GOAT board. Kansas City’s franchise quarterback is one of three signal-callers with multiple 5,000-yard passing campaigns. Montana – in a different passing era – never cracked 4,000 passing yards in a season.

Mahomes, who turns 30 in September, also sits just 8,199 passing yards and 28 touchdown passes behind Montana’s career totals. He’ll likely eclipse the TD toss threshold this year and the yardage mark in 2026 (barring injury). His career passer rating (102.1) is nearly 10 points higher than Montana’s (92.3) and almost five points greater than Brady’s (97.2).

Until Mahomes captures multiple Super Bowls in the years ahead, he simply won’t be able to vault above Brady. His success coming so quickly allows him to rival Montana. But Montana’s perfect record in Super Bowls (4-0) will deservedly function as a separator until a fourth or even fifth one comes. Mahomes will try to even things after one offseason away from the Chiefs’ throne in 2025.